The Teachings of the Qabalah

Source: Mystical Keys.com

A knowledge of the basic principles of the Qabalah reveals that the body of the Heavenly Man, the macrocosm, is epitomized in the body of Man. The planets, as mundane chakras (centers) in the Solar System, have a tidal action on the corresponding centers in Man. This concept fits well with the Hindu Chakra system that recognizes that the seven tattvas (the cosmic tides) not only form the levels of potential existence (the Lokas) of Man and of all living beings, but that these tides rise and fall in Man and therefore have a direct influence on him. The Greek god Hermes was a giver of increase, so his art was devised to increase the effect of these tides in Man so that man could have a greater share in the bounteous energies of the universe. Man invokes the increase of these energies at his own risk, however, and that is why we should enquire about the magical properties in the "foods of the gods" before we eat them! Who, in Western science, understands why certain consciousness-altering herbs produce "flashbacks"? How many modem alchemists know that their "chemical combinations" have a catalytic effect in the endocrine system? The concept of the law of correspondences constitutes the true esotericism to the astute student of the Qabalah.

In a larger sense, the idea of the correspondences implies that if a law is Universal, then it recurs again and again and applies to all levels of existence. For example, if some psychological principles are universal, then they should apply to nations as well as to persons. We could view each nation as one person with his own virtues and vices, his hopes and fears and aspirations and neurotic eccentricities. We ought then to be able to evaluate the interactions of nations, and to plot their destinies. But we could do this only if we were careful in our analysis, and only if such a psychology was really applicable to different worlds of existence. If it is not applicable, then it still may be a valid psychology within a local environment. But the Qabalist is particularly interested in those principles which are universally valid. A modern nursery rhyme tells us, with more truth than was probably intended, that "Once upon a time the world was round, and you could go round-and- round-and-round on it, and everywhere was somewhere." If the world is one entity, made up of connected parts, then what is happening between nations today may indicate that the world is having a nervous breakdown. We are all in this one world together so we cannot, avoid influencing each other, for good or ill. The Hindu would say that we are just instruments for world karma. "Karma must come, but woe unto those through whom it must come." We may hope to be instruments for the good karma of the world, however, and toward that end we may diligently apply ourselves, by not passing judgement on effects that are not causal in this plane.

Man’s situation on Earth, for good or ill, cannot be blamed on Man, anymore than we can blame him for earthquakes, tidal waves, or other "acts of God." If we can blame him for anything, we may blame him for being stupid enough to have to live in the wake of the gods. When two totally unrelated situations come together meaningfully in time and space, that is Synchronicity, it is not causality. So if the situation is what we call "good" then no one can be given credit for it, anymore than anyone can be blamed for it if it is not "good."

Man is not evolved yet on this planet to where he can make conscious decisions about his destiny. This does not give us leave to act irresponsibly, but we should be cautious about blaming specific persons for collective events. Wars (and truces) are not caused by presidents, dictators, or mad assassins. Such people are usually the agents of collective desires-conscious or unconscious.

The Otz Chum gives a picture of some of these principles which are also found in Jung’s work. A glance at the glyph reveals that it has ten spheres, or sephiroth, connected by paths. The sephiroth represent ten basic qualities in the manifested universe. The connecting paths attempt to show that these basic qualities, while apparently separate, are united as in a network like the organs in the human body. The organs are semi-autonomous, but a change in any one causes all the others to adjust to maintain the balance of the total organism. The organism is only as strong as its weakest organ. There is, therefore, no such thing as lopsided development. Every principle must be brought into balance with every other principle, as we go along. If this is not attended to, nature will redress the balance for us. Nature does not, however, take the human situation into account, so if we leave the balance up to nature, "She" has some surprises in store for us.

The qualities of the sephiroth are:

Kether (Crown) pure Existence.

Chokmah (Wisdom) the principle of Force.

Binah (Understanding) the principle of Form.

Chesed (Mercy) the Principle of Growth, or Anabolism.

Geburah (Strength) the principle of Destruction, or Catabolism.

Tiphareth (Beauty) Agape, or the principle of Mediation. (Without this principle being functional, none of the other principles can be synthesized.)

Netzach (Victory) the principle of Aesthetics.

Hod (Glory) the principle of Concentration (ratiocination).

Yesod (Foundation) the principle of Generation or Formation. (The secret of regeneration lies in generation, so without the functional aspect of this principle, there can be no increase of energy.)

Malkuth (Kingdom) the principle of Consolidation, Concretion.

The patterns formed by the sephiroth have meanings in themselves which amplify the meanings of the spheres. The spheres are arranged in three columns, or pillars, called the Pillar of Severity (left), the Pillar of Mercy (right), and the Pillar of Mildness (the Middle Pillar). The Pillar of Mercy represents the Force aspect of Nature, and the Pillar of Severity represents the Form aspect. The spheres are also arranged into three triangles or triads, with the tenth Sephiroth, Malkuth, standing alone. These four groups represent the four worlds of manifestation, or four levels of existence, and are called from top to bottom, Atziluth (the archetypal world), Briah (the creative world), Yetzirah (the formative world), and Assiah (the material world). These correspond to four phases of manifestation.

For example, the process of creating a house involves 1) the creative urge or intent, 2) the overall concept or idea of what is to be built, 3) the detailed plans and drawings, and 4) the house itself. We tend to think only of the end result (the actual house) as being real, but the Qabalist would view all four as different aspects of the "thing" whose manifestation in Assiah is the house.

To the Qabalist, the plans and drawings are every bit as real as the bricks and lumber; they are just a different aspect or view of the same entity. This is another formulation of the idea of correspondences, and we see that on the Tree the triads are replicated in the different worlds, each triad being a reflection in a "lower" world of the triad above it. The glyph is somewhat misleading in showing the worlds and the spheres in an up down format; it is preferable to think of them as different dimensions, but that is difficult to portray on a flat chart. The Teachings of the Qabalah.

When we view the Tree as a picture of the microcosm (Man) then there are two other patterns which are useful. First, the triads are separated by three boundaries, called respectively, the Great Abyss, the veil Paroketh, and the First Crossing. (Each term was invented during a different stage in Qabalistic growth.) These represent three major crises in Man’s psychological growth. Also, the Tree can be viewed as having seven levels, which correspond with the seven chakras of the Hindu system